


he's just a magician

by onakissgodknows



Category: Enchanted Forest Chronicles - Patricia Wrede
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 21:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17649782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onakissgodknows/pseuds/onakissgodknows
Summary: After the events of Searching for Dragons, Morwen and Telemain work together to study the wizards' staffs, and Morwen struggles to reconcile her feelings for Telemain while seeing him for the first time in years.





	he's just a magician

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic I wrote around ten years ago, never posted, and rediscovered semi-recently. I am posting it pretty much as it was written in 2009, which means I can see the flaws and I can see everything I would change, but for posterity's sake I'm leaving it as is.

Morwen and Telemain, both of them struggling to carry several wizards' staffs apiece, followed Willin the elf down the hall to Mendanbar's study. Morwen's two cats, Chaos and Jasper, followed a short distance behind, just far enough to appear as if they were following because they had nothing better to do. 

Willin stopped before a door and opened it, bowing to Telemain and Morwen as they entered. Morwen stepped inside and shut the door with a snap.

"Who's that?" demanded a cranky voice from the corner. Morwen turned to see a rather large, ugly wooden gargoyle glaring at her and Telemain.

"Is Mendanbar back?" the gargoyle asked, blinking grumpily. 

"Yes, he's downstairs," Morwen said politely.

"Good!" the gargoyle snarled. "You tell him from me - "

"I'm afraid we're a bit too busy to tell Mendanbar anything at the moment," Morwen said, remembering what Mendanbar had said about the bad-tempered gargoyle and turning away.

The gargoyle was indignant and went on yelling rude comments from across the room, but Morwen ignored it and promptly dropped the seven staffs she'd been struggling to carry on the floor.

"Watch it!" Chaos yelped, darting away just before a staff fell on him. 

"You ought to watch where you're standing," Morwen told him sternly. "You know you're a lot smaller than everyone else. And there's no need to look so shocked," she added to Telemain, who was looking scandalized at her treatment of the staffs. "They're a lot heavier than they look - and I haven't broken a single one. It can't be done."

"Really?" Telemain looked intrigued as he carefully set his staffs on the floor. "You mean to say, you can't destroy a wizard's staff, no matter what? You've tested this - this theory?"

"It's not a theory, it's fact," Morwen told him irritably. "After the last problem with the wizards, Cimorene and I tried to destroy a staff, and finally concluded that it's impossible. Best we can do is hide them before the wizards come back."

"Yes, yes, of course," Telemain said, stroking his neat beard and kneeling next to the pile of staffs. "But first I'd love an opportunity to study them - I haven't had the chance before now - "

"I know, I know," Morwen said impatiently. "Why do you think I volunteered to come along? You've a lot of staffs to analyze and only a few days before the wizards they belong to come back. You could use the help."

"I could?" Telemain looked up. "Yes, I suppose I could. Two heads are better then one...in most cases anyway, and this is one of them."

"Two heads?" Chaos asked indignantly.

"What are Chaos and I, then?" demanded Jasper.

Morwen rolled her eyes. "You know perfectly well Telemain can't understand you," she told the cats. "But you're welcome to help."

Jasper yawned. "I think I'll take a nap instead. Call if I'm needed." He leapt onto Mendanbar's desk, curled up, and promptly went to sleep.

Morwen sighed and turned back to Telemain, who was intently rolling one of the staffs between the palms of his hands.

"What did the cats say?" he asked absently.

"Nothing worth repeating," Morwen answered, shooting a glance at Chaos, who pointedly turned his back and stalked across the room. "They're being rather ornery."

"I suppose they are." Telemain laid down the staff and shook his head. "Morwen, the wizards' magic is so - so - " He appeared to struggle for the proper word and looked up at Morwen questioningly.

"Sloppy?" Morwen supplied, sitting down next to him and picking up a staff.

"Not necessarily," Telemain said, frowning. "It's extremely hard for me to get any sort of reading from it, therefore making it much more difficult for me to analyze their methods."

"Well, like you said, there are two of us here," Morwen pointed out, examining the staff. "Plus the cats."

"Of course," Telemain agreed, nodding. "If both - er - all four of us work together we should be able to analyze the magical constructs contained within the staffs."

"What?" asked Jasper, cracking an eye open.

"I knew you weren't really asleep," Morwen said to the cat. "Telemain means if we all work together we can figure out what sort of spells the wizards put on their staffs."

"That's what I said," Telemain protested, looking indignant. 

"Not everyone can understand your manner of speaking," Morwen said. "In fact, I'm one of the few who can."

Telemain looked somewhat put out, but said nothing to counter her. "All right." He reached over and took the staff Morwen had been examining. "We ought to get started if we have so little time to waste."

The two spent the next few hours studying the wizards' staffs one by one, carefully taking note of the properties of each, with the cats interjected comments and observations when they felt like it. By the time they had finished with four staffs, Morwen was getting tired and Jasper was yawning pointedly. She stood abruptly, brushing off her hands.

"Where are you going?" Telemain asked, looking up at her with a surprised expression.

"It's getting late and I have seven other cats at home who expect me back tonight," she answered briskly. "And Jasper and Chaos are getting bored."

"You're leaving?" Telemain looked disappointed. "But we aren't even close to being finished - "

"If you want my help, either come by my house tomorrow or wait until the next day, when I will return to the palace to check on Kazul. If you're still working, I'll be quite happy to assist."

"I'll come by tomorrow," Telemain said. "What we've discovered so far is utterly fascinating, and I don't want to waste any time finishing up."

"All right, then, I'll expect you sometime tomorrow," Morwen said. "Jasper - Chaos - we're leaving." The two cats looked at each other, then sauntered over out the door. Morwen bade Telemain goodbye before following them, leaving Telemain perfectly happy with the staffs. The study of magic, Morwen was sure, was Telemain's first and only love.

\----

Morwen was sweeping the porch the next day when Jasmine and Scorn slithered out the door and sat down, where they sat blinking up at Morwen.

"Chaos says a wizard's coming here," Jasmine said lazily. "What do you want with a wizard?"

Morwen frowned at Jasmine. "Chaos has his facts mixed up. Telemain is not a wizard, as you should know perfectly well, and if he was, I certainly wouldn't want anything to do with him."

"If he's not a wizard, then what is he?" Scorn asked, her tail twitching. 

"A magician," Morwen sighed. "A magician who happens to be absurdly interested in wizards and their magic."

"I remember him," Scorn said, wrinkling her nose. "Isn't he the one who talks so no one can understand him?"

Morwen smiled at Scorn's description. "That sounds like Telemain, yes."

"Ugh." Scorn stood, stalked across the porch and leapt onto the railing. "I'd rather not give myself a headache. I'll be in the garden." She jumped down and disappeared around the corner of the house.

Morwen turned to Jasmine and raised her eyebrows. "And you?"

"Studying wizards doesn't sound very interesting," Jasmine yawned. "I'll be sleeping. Somewhere. I haven't decided where yet." She turned and squeezed through the door back into the house.

Morwen rolled her eyes at the cats and returned to her sweeping. Several minutes later, Telemain materialized on her front lawn.

Morwen raised her eyebrows, but pretended not to be impressed by his Transportation Spell. "Morning, Telemain," she said, eyeing the staff he was clutching. "Careful of that staff, don't let it touch the ground. I don't want my lawn covered in brown splotches."

"I won't let it." Telemain stepped onto the porch as Morwen set her broom aside. "I only brought one staff for the reason that this one seems to be unusually complicated. Whoever it belonged to must be an exceptionally good wizard. We might have to take some time with it."

"Wonderful." Morwen grimaced. "Come in, then, and if the cats bother you, ignore them. They'll only be encouraged otherwise." She led Telemain into the kitchen, where Fiddlesticks, Jasper, Miss Eliza Tudor, and Murgatroyd were sitting in a row on the table. Fiddlesticks guiltily jumped down.

"Hi, Morwen," he said innocently.

"Don't think I didn't see you," Morwen said sternly. "All of you - off the table. Go out in the garden or something. Telemain and I will be in the library if you need us."

"Why would we need him?" Miss Eliza asked contemptuously. "He's just a magician." She leapt down and headed out the front door, fluffy white tail high in the air. Murgatroyd darted after her. Jasper curled up on the windowsill, and Fiddlesticks wound his way around Morwen's ankles.

"I'm hungry," he complained. "I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"That was barely two hours ago!" Morwen said. "You can wait. If you'll excuse me - " She stepped over the cat and opened the door to the library, motioning for Telemain to follow.

"Out of curiosity, why the library?" Telemain asked, following her.

"It's quiet, the cats shouldn't bother us, and we have easy access to any number of reference books," Morwen said. "Now, let me see that staff." She held out her hand; Telemain handed the staff over. Morwen jumped slightly when she touched it - the amount of magic she could feel in it was startling. "That's strange," Morwen said, frowning. "I've never felt a staff like this - granted, I haven't had access to many. Any ideas?"

"It appears that the wizard to whom the staff belongs was unwilling to take the risk of being unable to access any magic which to absorb, so he took every opportunity he had to contain magic within his staff. It would be a relatively difficult spell to master. Is this Zemenar's staff?" Telemain asked.

Morwen quickly examined the staff. "No," she said. "I'd know his if I saw it. However, this would have to belong to a very powerful wizard...I'm going to guess it's not Antorell's," she added wryly.

"Probably not," Telemain agreed, taking the staff back from Morwen and seating himself at one of the tables. "It's far too complex. It will take some time to unravel the protective charms surrounding the magic within the staff. Once we get through them successfully, we should have ample resources to further study the way the wizards' magic is executed."

"Excuse me?" Morwen sat down next to him. "You didn't say anything about protective charms."

"Our wizard friend here seemed to have taken every precaution to protect his staff from theft," Telemain said, nodding. "The inner core is surrounded by - "

"Morwen? Morwen?" Aunt Ophelia's spiky tortoiseshell head peered around the door into the library.

Morwen suppressed a sigh. "Excuse me, Telemain. What is it, Ophelia?"

"Trouble in the garden." Ophelia pushed the door open with her paw and stepped inside.

"You mean, Trouble is in the garden, or, there's a problem in the garden?" Morwen asked, hoping it was the former but expecting the latter. 

"There's a problem in the garden." Ophelia twitched her tail. "Nothing terrible, but the others thought you might want to come see."

"What sort of problem?" Morwen asked warily. 

"Nothing terrible," Ophelia repeated before slipping out the door. Morwen sighed again.

"Ophelia says there's something going on in the garden," she explained to a bemused Telemain. "I'd better go have a look. You may stay in here and work on the staff, as long as you're careful about it." 

Telemain nodded before immersing himself in his study of the staff. Morwen left the library, closed the door, then reopened it to enter the backyard.

What she saw was minor destruction.

Plants had been uprooted everywhere, dirt was strewn across the lawn, and most of the cats were prowling among the mess, looking guilty.

"What happened?" Morwen demanded of the nearest cat, Trouble.

Trouble leapt onto the porch railing to better speak to Morwen. "We think it was gnomes."

"What do you mean, you think?" Morwen asked. "Surely some of you were out here when it happened. The garden was fine early this morning; now it's a mess. Where've you all been if you didn't see it?"

Trouble shifted awkwardly from paw to paw. "Er - "

"They were all outside the library door," Jasmine said, jumping up next to Trouble, who shot her an annoyed glance. "Trying to listen to what you and Telemain were up to." She yawned. "Boring, in my opinion. Anyway, after they got tired of that, that's when they all came out here, saw this, and sent Ophelia to get you."

"I see." Morwen turned back to Trouble, who was looking down at his paws. "There's no need to look so ashamed, you couldn't have stopped the gnomes even if you'd been out here. Though," she added, "I will be having a chat with all of you later regarding privacy."

"What did you need to be private about?" Trouble demanded. "You're studying a smelly old wizard's staff."

"Beside the point." Morwen rolled up her sleeves and stepped into the ruined garden. "A simple Cleaning Spell ought to take care of most of this." 

Morwen spent a few minutes setting up the spell, then lifted her hands and prepared to release the magic when the back door opened, and Telemain excitedly hurried out.

"Morwen, you must look at this - I've got one of the spells untangled, it's extraordinary - "

The head of the staff began to glow. Morwen dropped her hands and yelled, "Telemain, careful!" 

She was a split second too late. Magic exploded from the staff and Morwen threw herself to the ground. She felt the spell ripple through her hair and across the garden. One of the cats yowled in discomfort. A moment later, it had passed. Morwen lay still for another moment, then slowly got to her feet.

The magic that had swirled through the air had apparently set off Morwen's Cleaning Spell. Much of the mess in the garden had been repaired. Then Morwen saw Telemain lying still on the ground, eyes closed and the staff still clutched in his hands. Morwen rushed over and pried the staff away. Telemain's hands were burned. "Fool!" Morwen muttered, checking his pulse and feeling his forehead. He was only unconscious, but Morwen knew from experience that anyone affected by magic needed immediate attention. "Murgatroyd!" she called, straightening up.

Murgatroyd trotted up next to her. "What?"

"Stay by Telemain," she instructed. "I'll be back very quickly, but if anything at all happens, you must come get me right away."

"All right," Murgatroyd said, settling down on the grass next to Telemain. "What kind of anything?"

"Anything," Morwen repeated firmly. "And if he wakes up, you keep him still." With that, she turned and dashed into the house and to the kitchen, where she grabbed a damp cloth, a few rags, and a jar of salve from the shelf. 

Murgatroyd sat up as Morwen reentered the garden. "He's not doing anything," he reported. "What happened?"

"The idiot set off a wizard's spell," Morwen said snappishly, laying the wet cloth on Telemain's forehead and spreading the salve on his hands.

"Shouldn't he know better than that?" Murgatroyd asked.

"One would think," Morwen muttered, tying off the bandage on Telemain's right hand before starting on the left. "Where did everyone else go?"

"They got annoyed when the spell went through the garden," Murgatroyd replied. "I think Chaos is in the apple tree...but everyone else went inside or to the front yard."

"I see." Morwen finished bandaging Telemain's hands and sat back on her heels. "Not much else I can do but wait until he wakes up," she said grumpily.

"When he does, tell him he's an idiot," Murgatroyd yawned, getting to his feet and slinking away through the partially-cleaned garden. 

"I will," Morwen promised grimly, checking Telemain's pulse again. There really wasn't much to be worried about - she had seen things like this before - but since she didn't know for certain what the wizard's spell had done....

"Come on, Telemain, wake up!" she whispered sternly.

Several tense moments later, Telemain shifted slightly and opened his eyes. "What - what happened?" he asked faintly, looking bewildered as to why he was lying on the ground with his hands bandaged.

"What happened was that you decided to release one of the spells in that wizard's staff!" Morwen snapped. "We're lucky I had the sense to duck, or we'd both still be lying unconscious."

"Fascinating," Telemain said, still in a rather faint voice. "It appears that the spell contained within the staff was designed to protect it from theft...once it registered that I was not a wizard, the enchantment was triggered and the spell released...likely that only the wizard to whom the staff belongs would be able to wield it....numerous spells similar to the one we just discovered have been placed on the staff, to keep away those deemed unworthy...."

"What was that?" Chaos called from the apple tree.

"The staff figured out that the magician isn't a wizard so it attacked him," Murgatroyd translated from underneath the lilac bush. "Only a wizard can use the staff."

"It set off my Cleaning Spell," Morwen told Telemain.

"Really?" Telemain looked interested. 

"Yes, I'd just finished setting it up when you came bumbling out here with that ridiculous staff."

"Interesting," Telemain mumbled. "It must have been configured to release any enchantments being set up nearby, in the hopes of further incapacitating the thief."

"Well, it didn't work. It only cleaned my garden."

"That wouldn't have been the intention," Telemain said. "The true intention would have been much more malicious."

"Of course," Morwen said. "This seems like an exceptionally nasty wizard, if you ask me."

"Indeed," Telemain agreed, sitting up and reaching for the staff. Morwen grabbed his hand to stop him.

"No, come with me - you need to rest a little longer."

"Morwen, I'm fine!" Telemain protested, but Morwen pulled his arm around her shoulders and helped him to his feet. Ignoring his insistence that he was fine, Morwen hauled Telemain up the steps and into the house, then pushed him into a chair at the kitchen table.

"Morwen - "

"Quiet," she said sternly, shooing Jasper off the counter and trying not to trip over Fiddlesticks. Scorn sat on the windowsill, watching everything through narrowed eyes. "I'll get some cider."

Telemain looked as if he'd like to argue some more, but instead just folded his arms and sat back in the chair. Morwen plunked a mug of apple cider down in front of him and sat down across the table with her own mug.

Telemain sipped his cider. "This is good."

"Thank you," Morwen said. "How do you feel?"

"I feel perfectly fine!" Telemain rolled his eyes. 

"Really." Morwen raised her eyebrows.

"A little shaky, but I'll recover.”

"Telemain, you are still the most stubborn person I've ever met," Morwen said.

"I could say the same of you," he shot back.

Morwen changed the subject. "Where've you been all these years?"

"Here in the Enchanted Forest, of course," Telemain said, looking surprised. "What better place to study magic?"

"How many other old friends have you lost contact with?" Morwen asked, still feeling annoyed with him.

Telemain appeared concerned. "Are you that upset about it?"

"No," Morwen said crossly. "Why should I be?"

Telemain missed the sarcasm. "How long have you been in the Enchanted Forest?"

"Five years, as I told you yesterday, if you'd been paying attention." Morwen drained her mug of cider, then stood and carried it to the sink. She walked back around the table and leaned against the edge of it next to Telemain.

"I'm sorry. I forgot you'd told me," Telemain said, his voice going a little faint again.

"Hmph." Morwen snorted. "Apology accepted. Are you all right? You sound quiet."

"I'm fine," Telemain repeated. 

"Anyone hit with a spell like that can't be fine just instantly," Morwen said, touching his forehead. "You feel a little warm."

"It's hot out," Telemain said stubbornly.

"If you say so," Morwen sighed, lowering her hand. 

Telemain looked down at his empty mug and plaintively asked, "Will you allow me to go look at the staff again?"

"You have a one track mind, Telemain," Morwen said crabbily.

Telemain looked hurt. "I'm only trying to learn as much as I can - "

"Can you talk about anything besides magic for ten minutes?" Morwen interrupted.

"Please," added Scorn, who had been unusually quiet. "I don't know how much I can take of this."

"If it bothers you, then leave," Morwen told her before turning back to Telemain. "I expect after you've finished with the staffs you'll go back to your tower and lose touch with everyone again." Morwen was surprised by the note of bitterness in her voice.

"You said you weren't upset!"

Morwen rolled her eyes. "You aggravate me."

"I don't mean to," he said quietly. 

"No, you probably don't," Morwen said. Impulsively she placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned over, and kissed him on the lips, ignoring the yowls of surprise from Jasper, Scorn and Fiddlesticks. After a moment she stepped back, folded her arms and gave Telemain a hard stare.

Telemain gaped at her. "Um - " He appeared to be, for once in his life, at a loss for words. Several minutes passed with Morwen staring unashamedly at Telemain, and Telemain trying uncomfortably to avoid her gaze.

Finally he sighed and looked back at her, a small smile on his face. "Morwen, you are, without a doubt, the most unusual person I've ever met."

"Thank you," Morwen said briskly, turning and beginning to wash out her cider mug. "I take that as a compliment."

Telemain coughed and looked down at his hands again. "I'm going to go get the staff."

"Very well." She kept her face turned away from Telemain, so he wouldn't see her grinning.

"Um. Well. Okay then. Back in a minute." Telemain stood, and exited through the back door. Morwen turned and watched him go with a fond smile on her face.

Scorn leapt down onto the counter next to her. "You could do a whole lot better than him," she announced.

"Hmm." Morwen was hardly listening. "Maybe so, but I'm sure I could also do a whole lot worse."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr, talking writing [here](https://on-a-kiss-god-knows.tumblr.com/) when I don't forget this blog exists, and talking everything else [here](https://swiftjolras.tumblr.com/).


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